Life’s Interesting Mix…

Last week was my birthday and Reen, my husband, outdid himself. He made it the best birthday I can remember. He awakened me with breakfast in bed, a gift, and the promise of an exciting day of adventure. I was to pack an overnight bag and be ready to leave the house at 9 AM.

At 9 AM we headed to the Myrtle Beach Aquarium, a place I wanted to visit for months. I was delighted to see God’s amazing underwater creatures and also fascinated by a limited-time Pearl Harbor exhibit. We then enjoyed lunch at Abuelos, a favorite Mexican restaurant, before seeing the movie, “The Current Wars.”
Then best of all, Reen worked with a dear friend to host a surprise birthday dinner! I returned home after this phenomenal day blessed and grateful to all who participated and for a husband who loved me so much that he would plan such a day of surprises! (It turned out the overnight bag was a ruse to keep me from knowing what was really going to happen.)

The day was rounded out, of course, by “Happy Birthday!” phone calls from each of my four precious children; Ruthie, John, Cera and my daughter-in-love, Amy!

I’ve reflected on that day since and realized something really interesting. That day was rich, rewarding and precious mostly because of my husband’s love in planning it and the love of my family and friends. But the truth is that in the joy of it was also hidden sadness. We marveled at the glorious beauty of God’s created fish and sea life yet the Pearl Harbor display was troubling. One placard explained that even the Japanese warriors were ashamed that war was not officially declared when they launched their surprise attack. Of course, I felt grief at the loss of human life and the reality that history could, in fact, repeat itself.

The truth was that Fajitas at Abuelos were delicious… but only moments later we watched the sad tale of human jealousy and hatred played out on the big screen through the lives of Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla in their desperate attempt to be the first to discover and commercialize electricity.

I began thinking about truth and our lives. No matter what we display to the world, life holds both good and evil, joy and sadness…and that’s the truth. Understanding this enables us to not only realize there is no perfect life…no perfect day, but that we can still experience joy in life when seen through the lens of truth.

So much of life is separating the good from the bad, the truth from the lies so we can “reframe” the story of our lives by facing, accepting and processing the negative and then focusing on the positive outcome of the whole. “ALL things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes,” Paul reminds us. In some miraculous, supernatural way God is able to take even the most difficult things that happen and ultimately transform them into something that strengthens us to face each new day with confidence and courage.

This month, we’re going to discuss this thing called truth and see if we can find freedom in the truth as we step into all the activities, emotions and relationships of the holidays. Join me, won’t you?